5'2  5 
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INTVERNON 

The  Home  of 

WASHINGTON 

By  J.  E  Jones 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


• 


700 


Compliments  of  the 

CONTINENTAL  TRUST  COMPANY 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


THE  SPIRIT  AND  TRUST  OF  THE 
CONTINENTAL 

THE  spirit  of  sturdy  integrity  of  the  Conti- 
nentals was  reflected  in  the  uniforms  of 
buff  and  blue.  What  more  appropriate 
colors  could  be  selected  by  the  Continental  Trust 
Company  of  Washington  in  presenting  to  you  the 
scope  and  purposes  of  the  institution?  And 
indeed  there  is  something  in  the  very  name  that 
implies  the  unswerving  stability  of  our  country's 
defenders  and  the  comradeship  of  co-operative 
effort,  two  principles  established  by  one  institu- 
tion. The  Continental  Trust  Company  is  indeed 
gratified  with  the  widespread  recognition  of  its 
success  as  a  veritable  Trust  Company  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  the  word — looking  after  estates 
and  safeguarding  trust  funds;  furnishing  to  all 
under  its  care  the  impregnable  protection  im- 
plied in  its  name  and  located  in  the  Capital 
city  named  for  and  founded  by  General  George 
Washington,  commander  of  the  original  and 
immortal  Continentals. 


President. 


Mount  Vernon 

The  Home  of  Washington 


By  J.  E.  JONES 


U.  S.  Press  Association 
Washington,  D.  C. 

MCMXV 


Copyright,  1915,  by 

TT.  8.  PRESS  ASSOCIATION 

Washington,  D.  C. 


CHAJFLE  PVBLUKINO  COMPACT,  LTD. 
Boston 


til 


HIS  volume  contains  a  little  narra- 
tive of  impressions  brought  away 
from  that  tranquil  spot  on  the 
Potomac  where  lived  our  beloved 
George  and  Martha  Washington. 
Buff  and  blue  were  predominant 
^  colonial  colors,  and  they  have  been 

^  utilized   in   creating   this   book   to 

emphasize  the  telling  and  picturing 
of  the  story — a  story  much  the  same 
as  anyone  might  relate  after  the 
fires  of  their  patriotism  had  been 
rekindled  at  the  shrine  of  Mount 
a  Vernon. 


451781 


Boat  Landing  at  Mount  Vernon 


ENSIVE  and  retrospective, 
my  feelings  when  visiting 
Mount  Vernon  have  been 
much  the  same  as  those  of 
a  great  many  other  people, 
and  though  I  have  been  there 
time  and  again,  an  intangi- 
ble something  bids  me  to 
return — it  is  the  magnet,  I 
merely  the  needle. 

The  sweet  abiding  peace 
of  Mount  Vernon  is  a  fitting 
reminder  that,  though  the 
master  of  the  place  has  been 
dead  for  more  than  a  centu- 
ry, his  achievements  are  still 
fondly  remembered  by  his 

[5] 


'•JP . 

Washington's  Rule 


countrymen.  A  nation  that 
will  always  endearingly  call 
him  the  "Father  of  His 
Country,"  now  sends  its  pil- 
grims to  Mount  Vernon,  and 
they  travel  along  the  paths 
that  Washington  planned, 
or  about  the  grounds  he 
loved,  and  they  return  to  tell 
you  that  they  experienced  an 
unusual  contentment  which 
they  had  never  felt  before. 
Familiarity  with  these 
scenes  appears  to  intensify 
the  romance  and  sanctity 

[6] 


that  hover  about  the  House 
of  Washington. 

I  believe  in  the  advice : '  'See 
everything  once, ' '  and  I  have 
put  it  into  practice.  Many 
good  things  worth  seeing 
once  are  worth  seeing  twice, 
and  occasionally  things 
worth  seeing  twice  will  stand 
still  another  inspection.  But 
go  as  many  times  as  you 
wish,  and  you  will  always 
feel  an  inexplicable  serenity 
and  peace  when  you  pass 
within  the  gates  of  Mount 
Vernon. 

It  is  a  steep  climb  up  from 
the  dock  to  the  buildings. 
Besides  the  old  colonial  man- 
sion, there  is  the  spinning 
house,  where  much  material 


17] 


Washington's  Dtsk  and  Chair 


18] 


was  prepared  for  clothing  the 
servants,  and  where  rag  car- 
pets and  other  fabrics  were 
woven  for  the  use  of  the 
family.  Flax,  cotton,  wool 
and  silk  were  put  through  the 
various  processes.  A  dupli- 
cate of  the  family  coach  is  a 
relic  of  the  place  that  remains 
in  the  old  coach  house.  Close 
by  one  comes  on  to  the  office, 
stables,  smoke  house,  laun- 
dry, butler's  house,  carpenter 


Table  in  Banquet  Hall 


shop,  ice  house,  seed  house, 
gardener's  lodge  and  the  serv- 
ants' quarters,  all  of  which, 
except  the  stables  and  quar- 
ters, are  painted  spotlessly 
white. 

Nature  has  done  a  great 
deal  for  the  scene,  and  from 
the  Virginia  hill  the  outlook 
up  the  Potomac,  and  across 
the  broad  river  on  the  Mary- 


Colonial  Stage  Coach 


[10] 


Ill] 


land  shore,  where  was  located 
and  is  still  preserved  Mar- 
shall Hall,  the  country  place 
of  John  Henson  Marshall,  is 
all  in  harmony  with  the  sim- 
ple grandeur  that  surrounds 
the  spot  where  lived  George 
and  Martha  Washington. 
But  withal,  the  associations 
are  what  lend  the  intense 
interest  and  affection  that 
attaches  to  the  place,  for  had 
Mount  Vernon  been  any- 


Ceiling  Detign  by  Washington 


[12] 


thing  else  but  the  home  of 
Washington  it  might  pass 
simply  as  a  "nice  old  country 
place." 

I  can  recall  a  thousand  big 
sights  and  experiences  of  first 
magnitude,  and  in  our  own 
domain  they  include  the 
Maine  woods,  the  roaring  Ni- 
agara, the  Great  Lakes,  the 
Rocky  Mountains;  dips  in 
the  Atlantic,  the  Pacific, 
Lake  Superior  and  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico;  a  train  ride 
through  the  Culebra  cut  and 
a  walk  across  the  locks  at 
Gatun;  stalking  deer  in  the 
forests,  whipping  the  trout 
streams  in  the  Middle  West 
and  hauling  in  the  lines  while 
deep-sea  fishing  off  Cape  Cod 

[13] 


or  pulling  salmon  from  Lake 
Sebago.  And  then  there  has 
been  the  laughter  and  gaiety 
of  the '  'Great  White  Way, ' ' 
and  long  years  of  life  in  the 
cities  since  I  forsook  my 
country  newspaper  and  the 


M There  art  four  sword*' 


[14] 


The  Stuart  Portrait 


charms  of  life  among  the  best 
friends  I  shall  ever  know. 
Lastly,  there  is  Washington, 
my  home  —  a  great  kaleido- 
scopic affair,  a  perpetual 
show  and  museum,  always 
filled  with  life  and  interest. 
In  my  own  way  I  can  har- 
monize all  these,  and  they 
are  integral  parts  of  what 
might  be  termed  the  '  'scheme 
of  things." 

But  Mount  Vernon  fur- 
nishes a  singular  contrast  to 


'  Old  maps  of  the  world ' 

[15] 


all  else,  for  it  has  its  indi- 
vidual and  peculiar  way  of 
sending  thrills  through  one's 
system — it  bids  you  pause  in 
contemplation.  Perhaps  you 
murmur  a  silent  prayer  as 
you  eagerly  lean  forward  to 


Survtyor't  Tri{x>d  Used  by  Wathington 


[16] 


Washington's  State  Sword 

behold  the  caskets  within  the 
tomb  that  contains  all  that  is 
mortal  of  George  and  Mar- 
tha Washington.  And  you 
are  proud  of  the  patriotic 
sensations  you  feel  in  the 
knowledge  that  you  are  an 
American  and  are  standing 
before  your  country's  great- 
est shrine. 

At  the  well  where  Wash- 
ington quenched  his  thirst 
from  a  gourd,  you  use  a 
modern  sanitary  cup,  and 
drink  the  nectar  supplied 
from  Mother  Earth.  In  the 
Mansion  itself  you  marvel 

[17] 


'  Nature  has  done  a  great  deal  for  this  tctne ' 


[18] 


i  lie 


Houdon  Bust — 

Drawing  by  N.  A.  Witten 


before  the  relics  and  me- 
mentos of  the  Washington 
family,  and  almost  uncon- 
sciously exclaim:  "  Wonder- 
ful!' *  There  are  four  swords, 
three  of  which  Washington 
presented  to  his  nephews 
with  the  injunction,  "not  to 
unsheath  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  shedding  blood,  ex- 
cept it  be  in  self-defence  or 
in  defence  of  their  country 
and  its  rights,  and  in  the 
latter  case  to  keep  them  un- 
sheathed and  prefer  falling 
with  them  in  their  hands  to 
the  relinquishment  thereof. 

Then  there  may  be  seen 
Washington's  flute,  his 
hunting  horn,  a  huge  key  to 
the  Bastile,  a  rug  woven  by 

[19] 


When  Candles  were 
kept  burning 


order  of  Louis  XVI,  and  sent 
by  him  as  a  present  to  Gen- 
eral Washington.  The 
library  and  numerous  pieces 
of  furniture,  including  his 
desk,  chair,  books,  letters 
and  records  in  his  handwrit- 
ing, a  globe  containing  old 

1*0] 


maps  of  the  world,  his  sur- 
veyor's tripod,  tables,  clocks, 
carpets  and  wearing  apparel, 
lend  their  touch  of  interest 
to  the  rooms. 

LaFayette  was  assigned  a 
chamber  at  Mount  Vernon, 
where  he  stayed  much  of  his 
time,  and  among  his  many 
gifts  are  the  artistic  firedogs 
to  be  seen  in  the  banquet 
hall. 

The  original  plantation 
consisted  of  8,000  acres,  and 
of  this  237.5  acres  are  re- 


Ceiling  Decoration  by  Wathington 


[21] 


tained  in  the  present  estate. 
The  flower  gardens,  which 
are  kept  up  as  they  were  de- 
signed by  Martha  Washing- 
ton, the  original  hedge  sur- 
rounding it  and  set  out  under 
the  direction  of  Washington 
himself,  the  paths,  roadways, 
boat  landing,  and  a  thousand 
possessions  and  reminders  of 
the  Washington  family,  per- 
form their  silent  part  in  sup- 
plying the  satisfaction  that 
drops  its  mantle  about  the 
pilgrims  to  Mount  Vernon. 

But  quite  naturally  the 
things  that  stood  most  for 
the  personal  comfort  and 
affected  the  manner  of  living 
of  the  Washington  family, 
afford  particular  interest.  In 

[22] 


"Martha" — a  name  beloved 


a  spacious  kitchen  at  Mount 
Vernon  there  remain  the 
relics  of  pioneer  days.  The 
meats  for  the  Washington 
family  were  cooked  at  an 
open  fire  and  turned  on  a 
"spit";  their  coffee  was 
boiled  on  the  hearth,  and 
their  bread  baked  in  a  crude 
oven.  Iron  kettles  and  pots, 
ancient  looking  cooking  ves- 
sels and  utensils,  such  as 
could  be  used  in  a  fireplace, 
are  all  well  preserved.  A 


"Wathin&ton  Quenched  his  thirst 
from  a  gourd" 


Brass  Warming  Pan 


piggin,  which  answered  the 
uses  of  a  pail,  is  an  inter- 
esting relic.  A  beautiful 
brass  warming  pan  mutely 
tells  the  story  of  chilly  sheets 
and  cold  rooms  inadequately 
heated  by  open  fires. 

[24] 


These  people  never  saw  a 
modern  range  or  a  cook 
stove,  and  we  can  imagine 
that,  as  the  icy  blast  drove 
across  the  Potomac,  George 
and  Martha  Washington 
often  suffered  from  the  cold, 
since  they  were  strangers  to 
hot- water  heaters,  furnaces, 
coal  stoves,  or  even  "air 
tights,"  which  would  have 
been  a  wonderful  success 
in  this  region  of  thick 
woods. 

In  the  banquet  hall  a  hand- 
some Carara  marble  mantel 
surmounts  the  fireplace,  and 
the  story  that  goes  with  it 
relates  to  the  manner  of  its 
gift  by  Samuel  Vaughn  of 
London,  who  sent  it  on  a 

[25] 


sailing  vessel  to  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  a  few  miles  from 
Mount  Vernon.  There  it  re- 
mained until  Spring,  for 
Washington  wrote  that  the 
wagon  roads  were  rough  and 
out  of  repair,  and  the  river 
frozen  over  and  navigation 
closed.  Today  an  electric 
line  runs  through  Alexandria 
to  the  gate  of  Mount  Vernon, 
and  the  steamboats  land  at 
the  wharf.  The  relic  of  light- 
ing in  Washington's  day,  to 
be  seen  in  the  kitchen,  is  a 
set  of  old  molds  used  in  the 
making  of  tallow  candles. 

The  voices  hush  as  the  visi- 
tors, passing  through  the 
mansion,  stop  before  a  cham- 
ber door  over  which  there  is 

[26] 


A  Mirror 


an  inscription  saying  that 
Washington  died  in  that 
room.  The  original  bed,  six 
and  a  half  feet  long,  and  the 
same  width,  with  its  four 
high  posts  and  canopy,  is  of 
unusual  interest,  for  on  it  the 
great  and  good  man  died. 
His  mother's  desk  and  arm- 
chair, a  military  trunk  of 
ancient  construction,  a 

[27] 


'Material  UHM  prepared  for  clothing' 


[28] 


"Washington  .  .  .  gazed  out 
over  the  Potomac11 


bureau,  washstand  and  mir- 
ror, all  used  by  Washington, 
are  in  place.  It  is  sad  to  be 
reminded  that  Washington 
was  likely  bled  to  death  by 
old-fashioned  attendants  and 
physicians,  for  it  was  the 
custom  in  those  days  to  bleed 
for  fever,  and  the  popular 
remedies  were  lances  and 
calomel.  It  was  three  days 
before  the  news  reached 
Philadelphia,  for  this  was  in 
1799,  and  there  was  no  tele- 
graph service  to  carry  the 
news,  no  cable  to  flash  a  bul- 
letin across  the  ocean,  no 
nearby  wireless  as  at  present 
to  carry  the  sad  message  to 
the  then  unheard  of  stations 
at  Panama  and  San  Fran- 

129] 


cisco;  there  were  no  tele- 
phones, and  messengers 
scoured  the  country  on  horse- 
back to  bring  the  physicians 
to  the  bedside  of  America's 
greatest  man  in  the  critical 
hour  of  his  illness.  And 
when  the  summons  did  arrive 
there  were  no  swift-running 
automobiles  to  speed  the  men 
of  presumed  science  to  the 
side  of  the  sick  man.  Wash- 
ington, who  lay  in  his  room 
and  gazed  out  over  the  Poto- 


mac,  never  dreamed  that 
some  day  the  very  move- 
ments and  actions  of  illus- 
trious men  like  himself  would 
be  preserved  to  posterity  by 
means  of  the  moving  picture. 
In  passing  I  want  to  men- 
tion the  wide  variations  in 
likenesses  shown  of  Wash- 
ington in  the  best  pictures 
at  Mount  Vernon.  Gilbert 
Stuart  appears  to  have  done 
justice  to  his  subject,  and  his 
"Unfinished  Portrait/'  now 
preserved  in  Boston,  greatly 
pleased  Washington,  and  he 
authorized  Stuart  to  make 
copies  from  it.  Seven  copies 
were  made,  and  one  of  these 
hangs  in  the  banquet  hall  at 
Mount  Vernon.  But  the 

131] 


The  Colonial  Way 


[32] 


original,  the  *  Unfinished 
Portrait,"  was  never  deliv- 
ered to  Washington. 

Houdon,  the  French  sculp- 
tor, labored  conscientiously 
to  get  a  life  mask  of  Wash- 
ington, and  finally  succeeded. 
From  clay  gathered  at  Mount 
Vernon,  combined  with  plas- 
ter of  paris,  he  made  a  bust  of 
the  neck  and  head  of  Wash- 
ington. The  Mount  Vernon 
Ladies' Association  succeeded 
by  great  effort  in  preserving 
this  wonderful  work  of 
art,  after  it  had  begun  to 
crumble.  It  is  in  a  glass  case 
in  the  banquet  hall,  and 
shows  Washington  as  a  man 
of  very  strong  features — quite 
theideal  type  accepted  by 

[33] 


those  who  have  studied  the 
varying  pictures  and  busts 
of  General  Washington. 

Houdon  returned  to  Eu- 
rope with  his  life  mask,  and 
afterwards  there  appeared 
statues  and  busts  purporting 
to  have  been  made  with  this 
life  mask  as  the  model.  One 
of  these  is  at  Richmond,  an- 
other in  the  National  Capi- 
tol—but they  are  all  untrue 
to  the  original,  and  to  the 
Stuart  portraits. 

Other   artists  have  suc- 


Firedot*  Preunted  to  Washington  by  LaFayette 

[84] 


ceeded  in  creating  sketches 
typifying  a  fine-skinned  un- 
wrinkled  face,  to  which  they 
have  added  a  fluffily  clothed 
body,  crowning  the  creations 
with  a  bewigged  head  on 
which  a  number  five  hat 
would  fit  with  nicety.  In  the 
paintings  and  statues  in  the 
Hall  of  Fame  at  the  National 
Capitol,  in  the  Boston  Pub- 
lic Library  and  the  City  Hall 
of  New  York,  I  have  seen 
these  same  elaborate  misrep- 
resentations. 

Unfortunately  some  of 
this  work  is  credited  to  the 
Houdon  life  mask,  but  go 
to  Mount  Vernon  and  see 
for  yourself  and  you  will  be 
convinced  that  the  great 

[35] 


sculptor  is  to  be  held  blame- 
less for  the  libels  upon  his 
work. 

A  good  picture  of  Wash- 
ington, in  his  last  years, 
hangs  in  the  old  Masonic 
lodge  room  at  Alexandria, 
Virginia.  General  Washing- 
ton was  master  of  the  Alex- 
andria Lodge,  and  approved 
the  portrait  which  hangs  on 
the  wall.  It  was  produced  by 
Williams,  an  obscure  artist 
who  lived  in  Philadelphia.  In 

[36] 


this  hall  there  are  preserved 
many  interesting  Washing- 
ton relics,  including  his  Mas- 
ter Mason's  apron,  and  the 
chair  in  which  he  sat  as  mas- 
ter. There  is  also  the  trowel 
used  by  General  Washington 
in  laying  the  cornerstone  of 
the  National  Capitol,  his 
spurs,  pocket  compass,  the 
lesser  lights  and  the  hour 
glass  of  the  lodge. 


Tht  chair  in  which  he  sat  ca  master  ' 


[87] 


451781 


And  lastly,  let  us  climb 
to  the  attic  on  the  third  floor 
of  the  mansion  at  Mount 
Vernon,  for  here  we  find 
the  room  in  which  Martha 
Washington  spent  her  last 
days  and  died.  A  chair, 
dressing  glass,  desk  and 
dressing  set  are  among  the 
original  relics  to  be  found 
in  this  room.  Only  a  small, 
narrow  window  lets  in  the 
light.  Here  the  great  wife 
of  America's  first  President 
spent  her  days  in  compara- 
tive solitude;  for,  although  it 
is  one  of  the  least  desirable 
rooms  in  the  mansion,  the 
tomb,  where  her  husband's 
body  rested,  lay  in  plain  view 
beneath  the  window,  and 

[38] 


faithful  Martha  Washington 
kept  her  eyes  fastened  upon 
that  spot  until  Time  closed 
her  own  lids  and  she  was 
carried  out  to  be  laid  by 
the  side  of  her  husband  and 
lover. 

The  picture  of  Mount  Ver- 
non  can  never  be  drawn  by 
artist  and  writer  except  in- 
adequately, but  as  time  goes 
on  thousands  of  American 
citizens  visiting  the  place  will 
feel  the  rich  benefits  which  I 
have  so  poorly  expressed. 
That  this  privilege  is  pre- 
served for  them  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  when  the  place  was 
run  down,  when  it  was  going 
to  rack  and  ruin,  and  when 
the  government  itself  had 


failed  to  rise  to  the  occasion 
and  take  charge  of  the  sacred 
spot;  after  old  Virginia  had 
turned  its  back  upon  its  re- 
sponsibility of  caring  for  the 
greatest  landmark  within  its 
borders,  Miss  Ann  Pamela 
Cunningham  of  South  Caro- 


'The  piuin.  which  answered  the  uses  of  a  frail' 
[40] 


Washington's  Book  Plate 


Una  undertook  to  organize 
the  Mount  Vernon  Ladies' 
Association;  and  the  story  of 
her  struggles  through  long 
years,  during  all  of  which 
time  she  was  in  an  invalid 
condition,  is  a  chapter  in 
womanly  heroism  and  devo- 
tion to  a  self-enforced  duty 
that  furnished  as  its  unselfish 
reward  the  preservation  of 
the  Washington  Mansion, 

[41] 


when  otherwise  the  chances 
were  that  it  would  have 
crumbled  to  decay. 

One  of  the  tasks  was  to 
raise  more  than  $200,000  by 
public  subscription,  and 
$68,294.59  of  this  amount, 
was  secured  by  Hon.  Edward 
Everett  of  Massachusetts, 
who  lectured  throughout  the 
country. 

Once  in  awhile  some  Con- 
gressman asks  for  "an  inves- 
tigation of  Mount  Vernon, ' ' 
or  presents  a  resolution  for 
the  government  to  purchase 
the  place;  but  when  these 
same  statesmen  find  out  how 
much  better  the  ladies  have 
done  with  their  charge  than 
the  government  is  doing  with 

[42] 


'  You  eagerly  bend  forward  to  behold  the  caskets ' 


[43] 


anything  in  its  care,  they 
usually  end  their  interference 
by  commending  these  noble 
women,  representing  many 
states,  who  have  done  such  a 
valuable  service  to  their  coun- 
try, through  their  custody 
and  management  of  every 
patriotic  American's  shrine — 
Mount  Vernon. 


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SRLF 
QL. 


OCTO,i1992 


«***<**» 


l.OS 

\.iBRARi' 


